Crushed ice dispenser



June 12, 1951 F. w. TOPPING CRUSHED ICE DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledFeb. 12, 1946 INVENTOR. FRANK W. TOPPING ATTOR NE Y5 Patented June 12,195i UNl TE!) TATE-S PATENT QFFI'CE 2,556,510 'oit'iisHF'i) EDisPEit'sER Frank W. Topping, "statue, Wash. Ab'pudat'ibn February 12,194e,'sfi%; 1No. 647,040

'7 Olaini's.

, 1 v r In restaurants, bars, hospitals, and th'e lil ie there is alarge demand for crushed ice. Normal ly a large block of ice, suppliedby a commercial refrigerating concern, is broken up, held inr'efrigerated compartments until needed, and is then further broken up,chipped or shaved offlfo'r criislrie'd, and is placedin tubs or inglasses rp'r serving. This involves the necessity of large re ir-i'gerated storage capacity for the ice in it's several forms (blocks,"chunks, and crushed) 'ar1fd the necessity Of Sevial handling's.Notes-1y is the labor of so handling the ice, and effecting itsprogressive diminution in size, somewhat 'ekpen sive, but there is alsothe possibility of its be= coming dirty or contaminated as a result.There is, too, an appreciable loss from meitin'g and from shattering andflying err. an these eonsiaera tions, and various others, urge a changein the methods of supplying crushed ice for such vol ume uses. r I

Accordingly; it is the primary object or the present invention toprovide "czru's hedl ice; in adequate volume to sunny such needs; yet bymeans which avoid or eliminate the present ewjecti'ons, such as thoseoutlined above. ie specifically, it is an object of the presentinventionto provide means and a method whereby ice can be frozen, crushed '(inthe sense that it is broken into pieces of Small size from arga piece orsheet); and delivered in the amounts and at the times it is needed, fromwater, ane by substantially automatic and immediately avarle m n o It isa further object to provide against the contingency that ice willcollect upon the freezin surface, and to that end to insure thatoperation of the ice crushing and "delivering means continuesfor asufiioient time after termination of the water supply to the freezingsurface, that all ice is removed, and the freezing surface is left clearand ready for the next operation. Itis also an object to carry out theobjects in dicated above by means of a machine of simple, rugged, landdependable construction, and capable of beingbuilt in a compact,convenient, and attractive form; 7

Various other objects; and in particular those which pertain moreespecially to the mechanical features of the invention; will beascertainabl as this specification (including the claims) pro ceeds, orcan be determined by inspection of the drawings.

The invention comprises the novel mechanism; and the novel method;illustrated in the accom panying drawings in a representative form, and

as 'jvillbe Hereinafter more particularly descriliied.

, f a' neta .c vati iv ew oft vice, in somewhatdiagrammaticform, an withthe outer a ing shown in section. I I

Figure 2 is an "enlargedaxial sectional view 0f the f 7 citing chamberand 'associated parts Figure 3 is a di'a lain of the electrical circuitand controls. p h n a The method is st-ran y mple and m iii eissent'themainten anc -oi chamber, were ablYfOf cyli'n or into which water ssup-pu a q V the amounts heeded; he water promptly rr 'zes upon some 'rl gseeh cheetah-y with intact operation, to dislodge the ice as it fobreak it up into small hits; such mechan sm may also be formed oroperated in such as to 'aidvance tli bits bf ice to i whence an 'of itis 'd'eli'v u has a lass or 'qh receptacle placed to receive it; whichto be used or cbiisuined. The m ethod is thus analogous to thedispensing, restaurants pf water from H the faucet directly 0 suriier"sglass, except that saw i'c'e, instead of liquid water, is supplied tothe glass. :33; suitable controls, and if the form of the freezingsurface so requires, it can'be insured that the delivery actioncontinues automatically, so that an the water supplied is delivered asice, and so that no ice remains upon the freezing surface to obstructsubsequent operation of the device; y

The freezing chamber I; preferably in tlie f o'i i'n of a cylinder,disposed substantially horizontally; is surrounded by a jacket it! forthe circulation of refrigerant, and is 'enclos e clwithiii a housing Hbetween which and the jacket is an insulating space filled withinsulating material 15 The chamber I has a water inlet aperture I 2;nearits upper portion at one end, leading to which the exterior is afunnel l3. At its teeters end the, chamber has a discharge spout i4;preferably is made or material which is or low heat conductivity.

Refrigerant is circulated through the jacket II), by the tubing 2|], 2|,by means Such as the "oil ventional refrigeration unit 2 includingpressor driven by a self-contained motor 0t shown). Suitableontrolme'aiis insure 'such eration of the refrigerating mechanism asmaintain the freezing chamber I, or it's lo wall, at a low enoughtemperature to effect quifreezing of water deposited thereupon. Asexample of such control means; a tliririo-snsi tive element 22 isexposed, directly or indirectly, to the temperature prevailing withinthe chamber l, and through a bellows 23 closes a switch 241 in thecircuit 25 of the compressor motor to initiate circulation ofrefrigerant, say at 14 F. (assuming the master switch 59 has beenclosed), or opens such switch 24 when the chambers temperature issufriciently low, say at 8 F.

Water is supplied to the funnel 13 for delivery to the interior of thechamber from a supply nozzle 3 in the water supply line 30. The nozzle 3is arranged above and out of thermal contact with the funnel i3 andchamber 1. Thus, it is thermally divorced from the freezing chamber, andany residue of water left in the nozzle after the supply is cut off willnot freeze and obstruct emission of Water when next needed. Supply ofwater is controlled by a normally closed valve 3 I, which preferably issolenoid-operated. Opening of the valve is effected by closure of anormally open control switch 5. Also, since service pressures in theline will vary in different localities, and this would affect thequantity of water supplied during each opening of the valve 3i, it ispreferable to include in the water supply line 3%! a pressure reducingvalve 32, which in a sense becomes a metering valve to limit thequantity of water supplied during a valve opening of given duration.

Within the freezing chamber i means, typified by the rotary blades 3,for scraping and dislodging the ice from the chambers surface as itforms, for breaking up the ice into small bits of more or less uniformsize, and for advancing the broken or crushed ice towards the spout I l.The blades are inclined, and are rotated in the proper sense, toaccomplish the latter end. They may be rotatively supported by the ringand plate 4D, 4!, or in any other suitable manner, and their rotation isefiected from the pulley 4 2 through the two-part shaft t3, the partswhereof are mechanically joined, but thermally separated, by the clutchor coupling 44. A driving motor drives the pulley d2 relatively slowlythrough the belt 46.

As has already been stated, the valve 3! is normally closed, isself-closing, and is opened only when, and to the extent that ice isdesired. Similarly, the blades i need be rotated only-when ice isrequired. Since the operation of the valve 3| and of the blades 4 iscoincidental, they may be set in operation substantially simultaneouslyby a common control, in the form of the same normally open controlswitch 5. By reference to Figure 3 it will be seen that closure of theswitch 5 will energize the solenoid of the valve 3|, to open that valve,and by energization of the solenoid will close switch 5| in the branchcircuit 54 that controls the motor 45, and the motor will be and remainenergized so long as the switch 5! remains closed. The motor 45 isremoved from the immediate control of the main switch 5 in order that itbe not deenergized immediately upon opening of the switch 5, but rathercontinue in operation for a time thereafter. A time-delay mechanism,incorporated in the relay 50, holds the switch 5i closed for a timeafter the switch 5 reopens and thereby insures this continued operationof the motor 45, and hence the ice expulsion means, the purpose of whichis to insure that all water admitted to the chamber i be immediatelyfrozen, dislodged, and preferably expelled from the chamber. Thus itcannot stick to the chambers walls, and obstruct subsequent operation ofthe blades 4.

are 503331331 The entire mechanism, or the major part thereof, can beenclosed within a suitable and attractive casing or cabinet 6. Thelatter may be provided with a shelf 69, whereon glasses to be filled maybe placed, beneath the spout l4. Suitable drains 6i and 62 may beprovided, leading from the funnel l3" to control overflow, and from theshelf 60, to convey away any drippings.

It is believed that the operation will be obvious. When ice is required,a glass or other receptacle R is disposed beneath the spout, the switch5 is pressed or closed, and held closed for a period of time whichcorresponds to the amount of ice desired. Water, supplied only so longas switch 5 is closed and the valve 3! is open, is delivered into andforms a pool within the interior of the chamber l, which isautomatically maintained at a quick-freezing temperature by independent,automatic control of circuit 25. There the Water is soon frozen, and byoperation of the blades 4 is removed and expelled from the spout 14direct- 1y into the waiting glass R. Operation of the blades Itcontinues, after cutting off of the Water supply by opening of theswitch 5, until the time delay relay 5B permits the switch 5i to reopen,and for a sufficiently long time to insure that substantially all of theadmitted water has been delivered in the form of ice. The control switch5 might, incidentally, be incorporated in the form of or associated withsuch a valve handle as commonly controls restaurant water faucets, to beclosed by the positioning of the glass beneath the spout, and to beopened by removal of the lass.

While it is preferred to deliver only ice, and to supply water, ifdesired, from another source and by a separate operation, it is notoutside the scope of this invention to supply ice and watersimultaneously, and from the same spout. For example, and as one meansof so doing, water may be supplied through the valve 31 and nozzle 3 inamounts in excess of the capacity of the freezing chamber to convert itpromptly into ice. Excess water would run directly through thereceptacle R, while a certain proportion of the water would be frozen,broken up, and delivered as ice. However, this would cause fluctuationsin the temperature of the chamber I, and might lessen its capacity fordelivering an adequate quantity of ice immediately thereafter, hence, asalready indicated, it is preferred that the device be used only for thepurpose of providing bits of ice, as and to the extent needed, withoutany intermediate handling.

I claim as my invention:

1. A dispenser of individual batches of crushed ice, comprising afreezing chamber, normally deenergized means to supply liquid Waterthereinto upon energization, for prompt conversion into ice, normallydeenergized means energizable to break up and expel from the chamber theice so formed, control means operable under control to energize thewater supply means and the ice breaking means substantiallysimultaneously, and so long as said control means is operated, and meansoperable during a predetermined period after discontinuance of operationof said control means and of consequent deenergization of the watersupply means, to continue energization of and then to deenergizeautomatically the ice breaking and expelling means.

2. A dispenser as in claim 1, including 2. normally inactive actuatingmeans for the water supply means, a separate normally inactive andselfinactivating actuating means for the ice-breaking and expellingmeans, the control means being operatively connected to both thereof forenergization of the two actuating means, and a time delay meansoperatively connected to the actuating means for the ice breaking andexpelling means, to delay inactivation of the latter for a predeterminedtime after deenergization of the control means.

3. An ice dispenser comprising a chamber, means including arefrigeration unit operable to maintain said chamber normally at atemperature suitable for quick-freezing of water, means, including anormally closed solenoid valve, for supplying water to said chamber asneeded, mechanical scraper means located within said chamber to break upand expel therefrom ice formed therein, an electric motor for drivingsaid mechanical scraper means, and an electric circuit, including switchmeans, operable by closure of said switch means, to energize said motorfor operation of said scraper, and said solenoid valve for openingthereof, simultaneously, said circuit further including time-delay relaymeans operable by and during closure of said switch means to energizesaid motor, and further operable automatically to continue cnergizationof said motor for a predetermined period following opening of saidswitch means.

4. An ice dispenser comprising a chamber, means including arefrigeration unit operable to maintain said chamber normally at atemperature suitable for quick-freezing of water, means, including anormally closed solenoid valve, for supplying water to said chamber asneeded, me chanical scraper means located within said chamher to breakup and expel therefrom ice formed therein, an electric motor for drivingsaid mechanical scraper means, and an electric circuit, including switchmeans, operable by closure of said switch means, to energize said motorfor operation of said scraper, and said solenoid valve for openingthereof, simultaneously, said circuit further including time-delay relaymeans operable by and during closure of said switch means to energizesaid motor, and further operable automatically to continue energizationof said motor for a predetermined period following opening of saidswitch means.

5. An ice dispenser comprising a container having a freezing surface, anice delivery outlet formed in one wall of said chamber adjoining saidfreezing surface, water supply means operable to deliver water into saidcontainer and upon said freezing surface, mechanical scraper meansoperable to break ice formed on said surface and when freed from saidsurface to move it progressively toward said outlet for delivery throughthe same in a continuous operation, control means to operate said watersupply means and energize said scraper means simultaneously, and. timedelay means cooperating with said control means and operable to continueenergization of said scraper means for a predetermined period followingtermination of said water supply means.

6. An intermittently operable dispenser for supplying ice in crushedform only when and to the extent required, comprising an elongated andgenerally horizontally disposed freezing chamber, a discharge apertureat one end thereof, means at its opposite end, including a valve biasedto close, to supply liquid water to the interior of said chamber, meanswithin said chamber for agitating admitted water and breaking up theresultant ice during its formation, and for advancing the ice particlesto the discharge aperture, normally deenergized drive means for saidagitating,

\ breaking, and advancing means, control means energizable at will andduring any desired period, operatively connected to said water supplyvalve to open and to maintain the same open so long as said controlmeans is energized, and likewise operatively connected to said drivemeans to energize the same during the same period, and means to delaydeenergization of the drive means for a predetermined period followingdeenergization of the control means, whereby continued operation of theice advancing means can clear the chamber of ice resulting from thewater admitted during such energization.

7. An ice dispenser as in claim 6, wherein the agitating, ice breakingand advancing means are constituted by relatively narrow helical bladesrotative about and spaced from a generally horizontal axis, and whereinthe chamber is of the shape of a body of revolution the inner wallwhereof conforms generally to the peripheral locus of the blades outeredges.

FRANK W. TOPPING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,020,759 Holden Mar. 19, 19121,857,122 Sherman May 3, 1932 2,026,227 Foraker Dec. 31, 1935 2,100,742Hartman Nov. 30, 1937 2,104,260 Kemp Jan. 4, 1938 2,191,344 EricksonFeb. 20, 1940 2,282,862 Genova May 12, 1942 2,304,579 Lindsey Dec. 8,1942

